Polynesia Mythology
Story: Pele's Creation Country: Hawaii (Polynesia)
Intro: When people think of Polynesia they think of crisp blue waters and sandy beaches. It truly is a 'Paradise.' There is a lot more to these islands than just glamour... it includes a variety of cultures, different variations of beliefs, and a rich history of over 1,000 islands. Legends that originate from these islands may vary, but also connect to different cultures around the world. These legends also open a window to how these societiess live and their cultures. One famous goddess known throughout the islands, especially Hawaii, is Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, (fire, patron of dance, etc.).
Summary: There are many stories and legends on Pele's life. Pele was adventurous as a girl and always dreamed of travel and far-away lands. At last she asked her father if she could go discover these places and after agreeing to send her away, he got her a large canoe, (prepared by the God of Sharks, one of her brothers,) which could carry lots of people, food and supplies, for many days at sea. After leaving with her brothers in tow, Pele kept her un-born sister Hi'iaka safe by protecting her egg, she later transformed into a beautiful little girl and Pele favored her most out of all of her brothers and sisters. After reaching the islands of what is thought to be present tense Hawaii, Pele fell in love with Kama or Lohiau and even got married. She didn't want to settle however, so she traveled from island to island trying to build fire pits, or caves that she and her lover could live in. She used a magic tool to carve the living spaces called a Pa-oa. The top islands ended up being to small to house her lava built homes, and they would collapse into the sea. After trying and retrying this many times, Pele finally reached 'The Big Island' where she built her home. By the time her fiery palace was built though, her dream marriage was at an end. Her little sister Hi'iaka ended up marrying Lohiau/ Kama after many adventures involving him. Hi'iaka wasn't very amd though like you would think she would be...after all Hi'iaka was her favorite and closest sister and relative. The fact that Pele wasn't very angry and didn't destroy Hi'iaka is a pretty big deal for her because in other legends, myths and stories she is said to have rivalries, fights, and even battles with her older sister and brothers. Hi'iaka and Lohiau/Kama even ended up living in the Volcano palace that Pele originally made for her and Lohiau/Kama. Pele is even said to live with them in this home.
Story Analysis:
The story of Pele basically describes the journey of a curious girl, a dreamer, who wished to be sent off to discover a new land, and establish herself there. The story was developed and told for many reasons, whether it be about volcanoes, respect for the islands, or personal morale. There are many variations of the story, but all have the same purpose, and moral. The legend explains volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, and gives tourists and residents reason to respect and worship the ancient Goddess. When Pele is angered, becomes jealous, or otherwise aggravated, she produces an explosion. It is believed in Hawaiian culture that the Goddess often disguises herself as an ugly old woman, in order to test people, which is probably a warning to the people to show respect, always, or you could quite possibly become cursed. The myth was probably also told, in order to preserve the parks, and prevent tourists from destroying the natural beauty of the islands. It is believed that Pele cursed all who stole volcanic rock from her home without reason. Although this is simply an urban legend, many people claim terrible misfortune after bringing home island artifacts. To some Hawaiians, stealing a volcanic rock is taken very seriously, and is considered a crime. A very large part of Hawaiian history and culture includes volcanoes, making Pele a widely known Goddess, and an important part of Polynesian mythology today.
Culture Analysis:
When reading any mythology, stories, legends, books, magazine, etc. there are usually some type of hints toward the culture/ where the literature was written or from. You may have to look deep to find these clues... but it's really not so in the story and life of Pele.
According to The Book Of Goddesses by Kris Waldherr, Pele is the Hawaiian/Polynesian goddess of all kinds of fire, and especially the fire flowing from volcanoes, (lava.) Legends say that when Pele stomps her foot the result is an earthquake, and when she moves under the earth in her home, or is angry, the result is volcanic eruptions or dangerous fires. The characteristics of what Pele is a goddess of points out what the weather is like in her origin, (which yes, the Hawaiian/ Polynesian islands have volcanoes, fire, and earthquakes.)
Weather patterns on islands show that "before a volcanic eruption earthquakes crack open the ocean floor. The earthquakes create gargantuan tidal waves. The tidal waves crash down on the land and sometimes carry away beaches, cliffs, and mountain sides." Craighead, George and Powers, Daniel. Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl. New York, New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1998. These patterns are still evident today and were also clearly evident when the legends and myths were created, because there is an explanation to why these nature actions happen/ed. The legend says that Pele and her older sister, the goddess of the sea, had been fighting their whole life and when they fought the earth's shaking represented Pele's anger and the start of the conflict. This resulted in a comeback from her sister with huge tidal waves, which later resulted in an eruption of fire and lava, and then finally cooling of the lava with wind and water from the sea goddess again. This as you may have figured created land and the Hawaiian Islands we know today. This is another significant weather pattern in the Polynesian and Hawaiian cultures today, but it also opens up characteristics on people and their relationships.
The legendary fights between Pele and her siblings also give us a glimpse of sibling rivalry which means there was probably fights and quarrels on the islands between siblings like there still is today all over the world. The life of Pele also includes love and forgiveness towards her youngest sister from the time she was born to when she married Pele's ex-husband. An ex-husband also means that there was also a husband and a lover at some point in time. There was also a motherly figure and a fatherly figure as well as brothers, aunts, uncles, etc. th at was mentioned briefly. Obviously if all of these types of people and relationships towards Pele existed in the myth/legend they probably existed in the culture as well.
The attributes of Pele herself can also shed light on to what the culture might have been like. Pele was angry at times but also forgiving and sow to fully anger, which is shown because lava only oozes covering only about 3 feet an hour. She is also almost always depicted and thought of as a young, tall, beautiful, yet strong and independent women. Once in awhile she is depicted as an old wise woman. These attributes of Pele were probably thought to be good characteristics, values, and looks in a person/women. Pele is also one of the 3 patrons of dance along with her sisters. There are stories on how they were taught to dance, (including moves looking like an erupting volcano, etc.) which is really relevant today because Hawaii has there own style of dance... the hula!
Hawaiian natives and other islands such as Fiji still believe in Pele and her powers. Tourists even believe in her, saying that after ignoring the warnings not to take lava rocks they did, which resulted in bad luck with fire. (The lava rocks are considered an art of Pele.)
Culture Comparison: Though the world is vast and has a plethora of different cultures, religions, customs, and morals about life, in the end, we are all the same people. We love, laugh, and work just like any other group of people do. We have the same genetic structure, think in similar ways, and express ourselves similarly. After you think about all of this, it wouldn't be that much of a shock that Polynesian mythology and Greek/Roman mythology do not differ from each other in many ways.
Polynesia is made up out of hundreds of islands, including Hawaii and Fiji. Since there is a large variety of people and customs within this one culture, it is not surprising that they live in a polytheistic society which is just like the Greeks and Romans. As told in MythicalRealm.com, the goddess Pele is believed to be the volcano goddess of Hawaii who lives on the Kilauea caldera in the Halema 'uma'u crater. Though not known to the rest of Polynesia, she is a very sacred figure among inhabitants of Hawaii. Pele seems to fit the archetypes of a destroyer/protector the best. She should be classified under both archetypes because she is the goddess of volcaneos (includes the power of lava and fire, both destrution types), lightning, violence, yet she is also a goddess of dance and looks over the island that she lives on.
The Greeks and Romans also had a god who had this archetype as well. It was Poseidon, ruler of the sea and "The Great Earth shaker". Though both of these mythological gods come from two very diverse parts of the world, they were both feared by the people they ruled over. Pele and Poseidon have control over something that has a big influence on their people's geographic standing. In Greece they are bordered by water and trade by water, so they have to be fearful of Poseidon who ruled over the water, for he could bring a great storm upon them and be washed away at sea forever. In the same sense Hawaiian natives have to be fearful of Pele for she rules over the volcano and lava, if they tamper with her anger, the island which they live on may become coated in lava.
Both cultures show their gods having supernatural abilities to wield nature, Poseidon has the sea and Pele has the lava. Through these abilities they are placed at a higher level on the social ladder as a leader who can't be surpassed in any way. But yet, both cultures tell about their gods in the sense that they could still walk among the people and talk to them. Poseidon could save faithful sailors from a bad storm and seduce women to sleep with him, while people claim to have seen Pele walking among the island jungles and shores of Hawaii, and could find herself in the midst of a celebration, as told in many creation stories in SacredTexts.com. Since these gods could communicate with their followers, they also developed flaws shared by the humans. Both found love among the human race and did anything to keep it or get it, just like humans would do.
Conclusion: We look through the eyes of different cultures in different parts of the world, and we see how each one of them is different and unique. But as shown through reports like these, we realize how each culture is truly not as diverse as we thought prior to this study of mythology. We have seen how the mythology of a region, like Pele for the Hawaiians, can shape how a culture functions in daily life, especially if their beliefs are polytheistic. Through this study, we have shown that the further apart from other cultures a group of people are, the more likely they are to depend on their culture and religion for support in daily life. But no matter how far apart you are, the makeup of a polytheistic system stays astonishingly similar throughout the world which we live in.
Citations: Content-
Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "mythology, Oceanic." Encyclopedia of World Writers, Beginnings through the 13th Century. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
Craighead, George and Powers, Daniel. Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl. New York, New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1998.
ItemID=WE49&iPin=EWWI0202&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 28, 2008).
"Pele, Goddess of Fire." Pele Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcano: Mythical Realm presents people of myth and legend. 1998-2008. MythicalRealm. 28 Sept. 2008 http://www.mythicalrealm.com/legends/pele.html.
Waldherr, Kris and Leonard, Linda Schierse. The Book Of Goddesses. Hillsoboro, Oregon: Beyond Words Publishing Inc., 1995.
Pictures-
Cecil, Ann. Kahiko Hula Dancer Performing at Volcano. 2008. Ann Cecil, Hawaiian 416. 30 Sept. 2008
IRB TU. Polynes Map. 12 Aug. 2008. Informatik-Rechnerbetrieb(IRB), TU Berlin. 1 Oct. 2008
Story: Pele's Creation
Country: Hawaii (Polynesia)
Intro: When people think of Polynesia they think of crisp blue waters and sandy beaches. It truly is a 'Paradise.' There is a lot more to these islands than just glamour... it includes a variety of cultures, different variations of beliefs, and a rich history of over 1,000 islands. Legends that originate from these islands may vary, but also connect to different cultures around the world. These legends also open a window to how these societiess live and their cultures. One famous goddess known throughout the islands, especially Hawaii, is Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, (fire, patron of dance, etc.).
Summary: There are many stories and legends on Pele's life. Pele was adventurous as a girl and always dreamed of travel and far-away lands. At last she asked her father if she could go discover these places and after agreeing to send her away, he got her a large canoe, (prepared by the God of Sharks, one of her brothers,) which could carry lots of people, food and supplies, for many days at sea. After leaving with her brothers in tow, Pele kept her un-born sister Hi'iaka safe by protecting her egg, she later transformed into a beautiful little girl and Pele favored her most out of all of her brothers and sisters. After reaching the islands of what is thought to be present tense Hawaii, Pele fell in love with Kama or Lohiau and even got married. She didn't want to settle however, so she traveled from island to island trying to build fire pits, or caves that she and her lover could live in. She used a magic tool to carve the living spaces called a Pa-oa. The top islands ended up being to small to house her lava built homes, and they would collapse into the sea. After trying and retrying this many times, Pele finally reached 'The Big Island' where she built her home. By the time her fiery palace was built though, her dream marriage was at an end. Her little sister Hi'iaka ended up marrying Lohiau/ Kama after many adventures involving him. Hi'iaka wasn't very amd though like you would think she would be...after all Hi'iaka was her favorite and closest sister and relative. The fact that Pele wasn't very angry and didn't destroy Hi'iaka is a pretty big deal for her because in other legends, myths and stories she is said to have rivalries, fights, and even battles with her older sister and brothers. Hi'iaka and Lohiau/Kama even ended up living in the Volcano palace that Pele originally made for her and Lohiau/Kama. Pele is even said to live with them in this home.
Story Analysis:
The story of Pele basically describes the journey of a curious girl, a dreamer, who wished to be sent off to discover a new land, and establish herself there. The story was developed and told for many reasons, whether it be about volcanoes, respect for the islands, or personal morale. There are many variations of the story, but all have the same purpose, and moral. The legend explains volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, and gives tourists and residents reason to respect and worship the ancient Goddess. When Pele is angered, becomes jealous, or otherwise aggravated, she produces an explosion. It is believed in Hawaiian culture that the Goddess often disguises herself as an ugly old woman, in order to test people, which is probably a warning to the people to show respect, always, or you could quite possibly become cursed. The myth was probably also told, in order to preserve the parks, and prevent tourists from destroying the natural beauty of the islands. It is believed that Pele cursed all who stole volcanic rock from her home without reason. Although this is simply an urban legend, many people claim terrible misfortune after bringing home island artifacts. To some Hawaiians, stealing a volcanic rock is taken very seriously, and is considered a crime. A very large part of Hawaiian history and culture includes volcanoes, making Pele a widely known Goddess, and an important part of Polynesian mythology today.
Culture Analysis:
When reading any mythology, stories, legends, books, magazine, etc. there are usually some type of hints toward the culture/ where the literature was written or from. You may have to look deep to find these clues... but it's really not so in the story and life of Pele.
According to The Book Of Goddesses by Kris Waldherr, Pele is the Hawaiian/Polynesian goddess of all kinds of fire, and especially the fire flowing from volcanoes, (lava.) Legends say that when Pele stomps her foot the result is an earthquake, and when she moves under the earth in her home, or is angry, the result is volcanic eruptions or dangerous fires. The characteristics of what Pele is a goddess of points out what the weather is like in her origin, (which yes, the Hawaiian/ Polynesian islands have volcanoes, fire, and earthquakes.)
Weather patterns on islands show that "before a volcanic eruption earthquakes crack open the ocean floor. The earthquakes create gargantuan tidal waves. The tidal waves crash down on the land and sometimes carry away beaches, cliffs, and mountain sides." Craighead, George and Powers, Daniel. Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl. New York, New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1998. These patterns are still evident today and were also clearly evident when the legends and myths were created, because there is an explanation to why these nature actions happen/ed. The legend says that Pele and her older sister, the goddess of the sea, had been fighting their whole life and when they fought the earth's shaking represented Pele's anger and the start of the conflict. This resulted in a comeback from her sister with huge tidal waves, which later resulted in an eruption of fire and lava, and then finally cooling of the lava with wind and water from the sea goddess again. This as you may have figured created land and the Hawaiian Islands we know today. This is another significant weather pattern in the Polynesian and Hawaiian cultures today, but it also opens up characteristics on people and their relationships.
The legendary fights between Pele and her siblings also give us a glimpse of sibling rivalry which means there was probably fights and quarrels on the islands between siblings like there still is today all over the world. The life of Pele also includes love and forgiveness towards her youngest sister from the time she was born to when she married Pele's ex-husband. An ex-husband also means that there was also a husband and a lover at some point in time. There was also a motherly figure and a fatherly figure as well as brothers, aunts, uncles, etc. th at was mentioned briefly. Obviously if all of these types of people and relationships towards Pele existed in the myth/legend they probably
The attributes of Pele herself can also shed light on to what the culture might have been like. Pele was angry at times but also forgiving and sow to fully anger, which is shown because lava only oozes covering only about 3 feet an hour. She is also almost always depicted and thought of as a young, tall, beautiful, yet strong and independent women. Once in awhile she is depicted as an old wise woman. These attributes of Pele were probably thought to be good characteristics, values, and looks in a person/women. Pele is also one of the 3 patrons of dance along with her sisters. There are stories on how they were taught to dance, (including moves looking like an erupting volcano, etc.) which is really relevant today because Hawaii has there own style of dance... the hula!
Hawaiian natives and other islands such as Fiji still believe in Pele and her powers. Tourists even believe in her, saying that after ignoring the warnings not to take lava rocks they did, which resulted in bad luck with fire. (The lava rocks are considered an art of Pele.)
Culture Comparison:
Though the world is vast and has a plethora of different cultures, religions, customs, and morals about life, in the end, we are all the same people. We love, laugh, and work just like any other group of people do. We have the same genetic structure, think in similar ways, and express ourselves similarly. After you think about all of this, it wouldn't be that much of a shock that Polynesian mythology and Greek/Roman mythology do not differ from each other in many ways.
Polynesia is made up out of hundreds of islands, including Hawaii and Fiji. Since there is a large variety of people and customs within this one culture, it is not surprising that they live in a polytheistic society which is just like the Greeks and Romans. As told in MythicalRealm.com, the goddess Pele is believed to be the volcano goddess of Hawaii who lives on the Kilauea caldera in the Halema 'uma'u crater. Though not known to the rest of Polynesia, she is a very sacred figure among inhabitants of Hawaii. Pele seems to fit the archetypes of a destroyer/protector the best. She should be classified under both archetypes because she is the goddess of volcaneos (includes the power of lava and fire, both destrution types), lightning, violence, yet she is also a goddess of dance and looks over the island that she lives on.
The Greeks and Romans also had a god who had this archetype as well. It was Poseidon, ruler of the sea and "The Great Earth shaker". Though both of these mythological gods come from two very diverse parts of the world, they were both feared by the people they ruled over. Pele and Poseidon have control over something that has a big influence on their people's geographic standing. In Greece they are bordered by water and trade by water, so they have to be fearful of Poseidon who ruled over the water, for he could bring a great storm upon them and be washed away at sea forever. In the same sense Hawaiian natives have to be fearful of Pele for she rules over the volcano and lava, if they tamper with her anger, the island which they live on may become coated in lava.
Both cultures show their gods having supernatural abilities to wield nature, Poseidon has the sea and Pele has the lava. Through these abilities they are placed at a higher level on the social ladder as a leader who can't be surpassed in any way. But yet, both cultures tell about their gods in the sense that they could still walk among the people and talk to them. Poseidon could save faithful sailors from a bad storm and seduce women to sleep with him, while people claim to have seen Pele walking among the island jungles and shores of Hawaii, and could find herself in the midst of a celebration, as told in many creation stories in SacredTexts.com. Since these gods could communicate with their followers, they also developed flaws shared by the humans. Both found love among the human race and did anything to keep it or get it, just like humans would do.
Conclusion: We look through the eyes of different cultures in different parts of the world, and we see how each one of them is different and unique. But as shown through reports like these, we realize how each culture is truly not as diverse as we thought prior to this study of mythology. We have seen how the mythology of a region, like Pele for the Hawaiians, can shape how a culture functions in daily life, especially if their beliefs are polytheistic. Through this study, we have shown that the further apart from other cultures a group of people are, the more likely they are to depend on their culture and religion for support in daily life. But no matter how far apart you are, the makeup of a polytheistic system stays astonishingly similar throughout the world which we live in.
Citations:
Content-
- Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "mythology, Oceanic." Encyclopedia of World Writers, Beginnings through the 13th Century. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
- Craighead, George and Powers, Daniel. Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl. New York, New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1998.
- "Neptune-1"Poseidon/Neptune Pictures. 2003-2005. Clip Art. 28 Sept. 2008 http://download-free-pictures.com/fantasy/poseidon-neptune.html
- "Pele, Goddess of Fire." Pele Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcano: Mythical Realm presents people of myth and legend. 1998-2008. MythicalRealm. 28 Sept. 2008 http://www.mythicalrealm.com/legends/pele.html.
- Waldherr, Kris and Leonard, Linda Schierse. The Book Of Goddesses. Hillsoboro, Oregon: Beyond Words Publishing Inc., 1995.
Pictures-ItemID=WE49&iPin=EWWI0202&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 28, 2008).